Edgartown Leads the Way as High End Real Estate Sales Rise

Continuing an upward tick in high-end real estate sales on the Vineyard this year, a single-family home at Crackatuxet Cove in Edgartown sold last week for $21 million.

Jill Shaw Ruddock bought the home at 34 Crackatuxet Road from David and Michele Hedley. The 4.5-acre property includes a 7,800-square-foot house situated on a secluded cove in the Edgartown Great Pond.

The sale marks the third transaction north of $20 million in the past 10 months, all in Edgartown. Last January a home on the Edgartown harbor sold for $22 million, while in July of this year a home in Oyster Watcha changed hands for $$24.75 million, nearly a record for a single residential sale.

Home sale marks third transaction north of $20 million in the past 10 months, all in Edgartown.
— Mark Lovewell

“The top of the market has really blossomed,” said Tom LeClair, who co-owns Landvest in Edgartown with his partner Gerret Conover Jr. and handled the Hedley sale as well as the other two Edgartown sales. “Property values have reached historical highs going back to 2006, 2007,” he said.

Debra Blair, owner of LINK, the multiple listing service for the Vineyard, said three transactions more than $20 million in a single year marks a new record for the Vineyard.

Reached at her office in Boston this week, Mrs. Blair said the trend in very high-end sales is new for the Vineyard but not necessarily the region. “Nantucket has had a good number of $20 million-plus sales, butthis is definitely a new trend for the Vineyard,” she said. “Normally we would have a $20 million sale once in five to 10 years — you could count them on one hand. Now the new norm is $20 million and up for high-end luxury compounds on the water.”

Eleanor Wilson, client services specialist for LINK on the Vineyard, noted that the Hedley sale was not listed in LINK, another trend for properties at the upper end of the market. Brokers who cater to that segment of the market tend to “have people in the wings who are always looking for something to, quote, come along,” she said.

The Hedley sale last week sent $440,000 alone to the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank. The past two weeks have seen brisk activity in general, with $57.5 million worth of real estate changing hands on the Island. Edgartown has seen the largest volume by far, with $35.6 million in sales from Sept. 21 to Oct. 4. Real estate transactions are reported weekly in the Gazette.

Statistics from LINK confirm the upward trend in general. “We just finished our third quarter stats; what’s interesting is that the numbers certainly are up from a year ago,” Ms. Wilson said. “What I’m hearing from the brokers is that it was a very strong summer market.”

Ms. Wilson said the total number of individual transactions year to date is 404, compared with 354 the previous year. The median sale price is $612,000, compared with $525,000 a year ago. In September alone there were 70 sales, compared with 58 the year before; June, July and August saw a similar story with numbers uniformly up over last year. “Very strong summer market — and that’s not traditionally the strongest market on the Vineyard,” Ms. Wilson said. “To see the numbers climbing that much in the summer indicates people are still willing to pay fairly high prices for second homes. The Vineyard has been steadily climbing. Why? I have no idea.”

Jill Shaw Ruddock, the buyer of the Hedley property, is a longtime seasonal resident, London-based author and former investment banker. She and her husband, Sir Paul Ruddock, are noted art philanthropists.

Mr. LeClair declined to specifically name the buyer, although her name appears in public real estate records.

But describing upper end buyers in general, he said “It’s a combination of new buyers to the Island and families that have been here quite a number of years.” He said one significant difference is that the high-end properties selling today are turn-key. “Ten to 15 years ago all our high-end transactions were older generation properties that had to be redone,” he said. “Now we are seeing turn-key properties. This could widen the pool of buyers coming to the Island, because a lot of buyers today just aren’t interest in doing a big project.” He concluded:

“I really feel it’s a trend unless something crazy macro happens . . . the Island is in great shape, and for all the reasons families are attracted to the Island — all those reasons are getting better.”

Comments (17)

Tom Hodgson, wt

This is obscene. Horrifying. And really bad news for the peons who do the work around here.

Not if you are one of the peons who are building these homes. Millions of dollars are poured into the island economy because people like this are building these types of homes. The only reason my family and many other families here on the island is able to live here is because I build houses here. Besides small tourism, you have to accept that fact that construction is the largest industry on this island. You take that away and a lot of the other jobs go away as well.

It's nice for some to have the rich to feed from, but the old cliché says that Money isn't everything. The result of this Hamptonization is going to be severe strain on the social "fabric" of this island. This place is turning more and more feudal, with a few people in the castles and more and more in whatever little space they can shoehorn themselves into. Any early or late ferry, with it's numbers for travelling workers, argues either that there's too much and not too little work on this island, or that there's no affordable place left for the average peon.

OK, take away the big houses on the island and watch how the things we all cherish dry up. The land bank funds will drop so they will no longer be able to buy pristine properties, my pay check will dry up so the money I spend with the Whippoorwill farm share program will end, I'll eat out less so the money I spend at all the mom and pop restaurants will stop, and I'll probably have to move off island so all the taxes I pay will go else where. You'll lose one young family with three kids. I'm not the only hardworking peon on this island like this, I'm sure you'll find that most jobs on this island are very closely tied to construction on the island. A lot of people complain about the big houses on the island yet nobody can see the positive benefits they provide.

Let's not forget things like a school budget which on a per student basis is among the highest in the country while our property taxes are among the lowest in the state. Someone is footing that tax bills for that...want to guess who?

To those who think this is a sustainable model for the island economy - guess again. This is a capitalist pyramid scheme. When our economic health is based on how many houses we can build , not to mention MacMansions on a finite piece of land it eventually has to come to an end. That's when all of these builders start crying that there's no work left . It reminds me of what happened to New England's commercial fishing fleet. " Don't regulate us there's plenty of fish left and I have a family to feed."
The people who buy these homes at these ungodly prices don't understand how many people are driven out of here by this unsustainable economic model that makes affordable homes impossible.

Part time residents that invest in MV property give the island the money to do all the things we see around us and leave! They leave the island with all the improvements and money in the land bank and spend just a few months here...it's the perfect situation. Privacy for 9 months, and jobs and money all year....it's not so bad!

I think an interesting follow up story might be one that explores the proportions of renovation and new construction in the island construction business. Interviewing a range of resident contractors, how do they see their work coming towards them nowadays? Over the past ten years?

The willingness of wealthy part time residents to spend the money for a seasonal home and support it after construction is the economic engine that drives this economy. They also willingly pay grossly inflated prices for goods and services. After the cash infusion of the initial construction, the home needs to be maintained, thus employing landscapers, caretakers, painters, decorators, house cleaners,boat services, pool people and lots of other local people who do NOT have to compete on price for their services (as they do on the mainland). These rich people just want it done and gladly write the check. This HAS 'lifted all boats'for those who live here, and those who came here to take advantage of this 'bubble'of an economy. Only 30 years or so ago, Dukes county was one of the poorest in the state. Families struggled to survive. Women would clean a few houses, the husband would do some caretaking,minor handy man work, and they would both work their butts off scalloping for cash in the winter while collecting unemployment. Now there are many local tradesmen who have done quite well, many becoming millionaires in the process. Without this economy do you really think your neighbors would be able to afford the average $18 hamburger here? Its never going to be the hamptons as the zoning boards and MVC won't allow it. The next time you go to the hospital, remember that wouldn't be here if the owners of some of those trophy homes didn't open their wallets. (and LOTS of other charity things here that you all know about if you really live here)

What is the collateral damage in the proliferation of high-end real estate? Is it driving up the prices for more humble abodes to the point that average working people cannot afford to live on the Island?

Personally I applaud those who have worked hard and decided to make the Vineyard a part of their lives. Every season starts with the non profits having events to raise money for the community good. Many of these I know personally, and donate time and even more support that the public will never see or hear about. Some decide to enhance the property and restore or rebuild the property and go through the long and expensive process of doing it. Having lived here for 25 yrs and seeing what the Vineyard was as far as an economy then as it is now I think now is much better. The land bank has purchase more land for open spaces for ALL the public to use and enjoy through this process of the fees charged on the selling price. As an artist I really appreciate it when I am commissioned to do a handcarved eagle or sign for their new abode.